As nations implement clean energy solutions to combat climate change, multilateral institutions like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) remain an important tool in facilitating regional collaboration. On November 1, Shorenstein APARC presented a panel discussion on Asia-Pacific Energy Challenges and the Role of APEC. It was the third installment in the Center's autumn 2023 seminar series on APEC, complementing the forum's summit in San Francisco.

The panelists included Larry Goulder, Professor in Environmental and Resource Economics and Director of the Stanford Center for Environmental and Energy Policy Analysis; Larry Greenwood, Chairman of the Board of the Japan Society of Northern California, Senior Adviser at BowerGroupAsia, and U.S. Ambassador to APEC from 2000-2003; Gita Wirjawan, Former Minister of Trade and former Chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board of the Republic of Indonesia and Visiting Scholar at Shorenstein APARC. Shorenstein APARC Fellow Thomas Fingar moderated the conversation.

Goulder opened the discussion with an analysis of energy supply and use in China, what the Chinese government is doing on the climate front, and how the nation’s infrastructure projects connect with its energy use and consumption. He reminded the audience that China has emerged as the largest emitter of carbon dioxide for greenhouse gases and indicated that “if we're going to make a significant dent in dealing with climate change, China's action is going to be indispensable.”

Goulder noted that although China’s growth has slowed in recent years, its energy demands continue to grow, as does its reliance on coal-fired power plants. Coal still represents about 50% of the country’s total energy mix, whereas the other 50% is from non-fossil power, namely, wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear. According to Goulder, the current energy mix is “good news for those concerned about climate change, the share of renewable energy is increasing.”

To help meet UN emissions commitments, China has implemented a nationwide emissions trading system, a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The system is expected to more than double the CO2-covered emissions worldwide by the time it is fully implemented. "By 2026, [the system] is expected to contribute to about half of the reductions of CO2-acid, which would be needed for China to meet its pledge of net zero by 2060,” said Goulder. He advocated for linking China's emissions trading system to emissions trading in a multinational market.

Greenwood then outlined some of APEC’s history as it relates to energy issues and indicated that energy was an early and enduring focus of the forum. In 1990, a time of fluctuations in the global oil market, APEC founded its Energy Working Group. Since then, the group's scope has expanded to address renewable energy needs. According to Greenwood, the working group is responsible for conducting workshops, seminars, studies, and creating discussion venues to facilitate exchange between working-level officials — something APEC does more broadly.

Greenwood discussed the voluntary emissions targets of the working group, in which APEC members set targets and then monitor them and “use peer pressure to drive or to encourage compliance and action to make those targets.” Member nations are largely focused on energy intensity targets, he explained. In addition, APEC has maintained a target to double renewable energy generation between 2010 and 2030. “Mainly because of China, APEC is easily on track to meet that goal,” said Greenwood.

For Greenwood, energy security and climate change are the two prevailing interests of the APEC working group, but another area the forum is increasingly interested in is energy emissions trading and carbon capture. “According to the studies, it looks like we're not going to reach carbon zero, so we need to find ways, not only natural change but technology, to capture carbon and store it.”

Wirjawan proceeded to discuss energy security in the context of global development. He highlighted a paradox of the sustainability narrative, namely, that the aspiration to attain carbon neutrality by 2050 can seem too elitist because it resonates with the 15 to 20 percent of the world’s population living in developed countries. The remaining 80 to 85 percent of the global population, however, “are still concerned about putting food on the table, irrespective of how energy is sourced.”

Wirjawan also illustrated how large developing economies like Indonesia and India struggle to increase electrification on a per capita basis and argued that “it's probably going to take around 90 to 100 years. This duration is significantly irreconcilable with the 27 years left until 2050, when and where we have to attain carbon neutrality. So the question is, how do we narrow the gap?”

Wirjawan noted that “on the demand side, it is a lot easier to socially re-engineer, socially re-architect somebody's behavior in a developing economy so that he or she would stop using fossil fuel. The million dollar question is whether the alternatives will be as affordable.”

From a technological standpoint, said Wirjawan, we have all the necessary solutions to decarbonize. ”The problem for many developing economies is the economics of what it would take for all of us to bring down the cost from 20 cents per kilowatt to 5 cents.”

To achieve such goals, massive amounts of capital and organization are required, concluded Wirjawan. APEC's value, he said, is its ability to facilitate and accelerate information sharing and organization and reduce the win-lose dimension between environment and economic development.

The panel highlighted the need for multilateral cooperation in addressing climate change and energy security issues. The participants agreed that APEC has a significant role in bridging the divide between different constituent groups in the Asia-Pacific region and directing energy and economic policy that may accelerate the pace towards a more sustainable future. 

This essay originally appeared in The Diplomat.

With major crises in Gaza and Ukraine, the Biden administration might be tempted to overlook the importance of Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s mid-November visit to Washington. That would be a mistake. Indonesia is an important country that is heading into crucial presidential elections in early 2024, and the results of Jokowi’s visit could go a long way to shaping the next Indonesian government’s attitudes toward its relations with the United States.

Although U.S.-Indonesian security cooperation is good and trade has grown, by all accounts Jokowi and his team are heading to Washington feeling less than satisfied on several fronts. First, Indonesians remain upset by President Joe Biden’s decision to skip the recent Indonesia-hosted East Asia Summit, which they took as a serious snub. Biden invited Jokowi in part to make up for that absence, but the White House might have underestimated the extent to which Indonesians remain upset over the initial affront. The protocol-conscious government no doubt will also contrast their modest White House schedule with the lavish welcome recently received by Australian Prime Minster Anthony Albanese.

Indonesian authorities also remain unhappy with what they see as Washington’s failure to deliver on the high-profile Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), under which the U.S. committed to lead G-7-plus efforts to mobilize $20 billion to support Indonesia’s accelerated transition from coal to cleaner energy. Indonesian officials have complained publicly for months that the U.S. has pressed them to take difficult steps while offering little in the way of concessional financing to pay for it. The reality is more complicated, but the perception in Jakarta that Washington “sold them a bill of goods” is real. Some Indonesian officials have contrasted that with substantial Chinese funding on priority infrastructure initiatives, highlighting the regional perception of U.S. weakness vis-à-vis China as a reliable economic partner. (The Indonesians have largely ignored the fact that the U.S. is their second-largest export market and has risen rapidly to be their fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment.)

Jokowi also is looking for Biden to move forward on a proposed limited free trade agreement under which Indonesian critical minerals (namely nickel and processed nickel) would meet the criteria for inclusion in the electric vehicle tax credits provided for in the Inflation Reduction Act. The Biden administration reportedly is interested in such a deal, which by promoting diversification of both suppliers for the U.S. and markets for Indonesia would be in the U.S. national interest. It has, however, hesitated to proceed due to concerns about the congressional reaction, environmental and labor issues, and heavy Chinese investment in Indonesian nickel mining.

Finally, one has to assume that the Gaza crisis will be at the top of Jokowi’s agenda (if not Biden’s) when the two presidents meet. Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, has long supported the Palestinian cause and has vigorously pursued diplomatic efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire. While working hard to keep the issue from blowing up domestically, there is no question but that Indonesian public opinion (and genuinely held beliefs among top officials) has put the two governments at odds over the crisis.

At this late date, there is little prospect of major initiatives coming out of the Biden-Jokowi meeting that would ease Indonesian concerns or generate significant positive momentum. There is, however, still time to make some small investments that could result in Jokowi and his team leaving Washington feeling more positive about the relationship.

First, on Gaza, the meeting will not resolve the two countries’ differences, but it is important that Biden listen to and engage with Jokowi seriously on the issue and that he highlights his efforts to encourage Israel to show restraint and to promote a humanitarian pause. Jokowi’s post-meeting public comments about this discussion likely will have a significant influence on the Indonesian public and media perceptions of the U.S. role, so it is critical that Biden do all he can to ensure those comments are positive.

Second, it is important that Biden understand that Jokowi and many Indonesians are still upset over the president’s decision to skip the recent Jakarta summit. Biden cannot undo that, but he can and should acknowledge it in his discussion with Jokowi and emphasize that he appreciates how important Indonesia is.

Even such moves will only go so far without some movement on JETP and the critical minerals trade question. On the former, there isn’t time to achieve major progress before the meeting, but President Biden should instruct his team to redouble their efforts to mobilize funding and get the initiative moving. This goes beyond Indonesian concerns and gets to the heart of regional wariness about Washington being able to put meat on the bones of its various economic initiatives.

On critical minerals, Biden should agree to send trade officials to Jakarta to discuss the outlines of a possible agreement, though he will have to be careful not to overcommit absent confidence he will be able to deliver. Indonesia, for its part, needs to stop rotating ambassadors through Washington so quickly and install an envoy who can effectively make the case for a limited trade deal to Congress and others.

Some serious, last-minute work needs to be done to ensure that next week’s meeting between the leaders of the world’s second and third-largest democracies does more than highlight the differences and problems in the relationship.

The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) at Stanford University and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future are pleased to announce the second annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue (TPSD) in Seoul, Republic of Korea, set to take place on September 12-14, 2023. This convening, designed to accelerate progress on achieving the United Nations-adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, will focus on energy security, the seventh of the Agenda’s underlying 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

APARC and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation launched the dialogue initiative to spur new research and policy collaborations between experts from the United States and Asia to expedite the implementation of the SDGs by governments and non-state actors. This year’s event builds upon the success of the inaugural Tran-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue, held in Seoul in October 2022, and the continued momentum generated through its resultant regional convening, the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue, which took place earlier this summer in Mongolia.  

The Korea Environment Institute, Korea Energy Economics Institute, Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute, K-water, and Ewha Womans University will co-host the second annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue. The event’s supporters include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University, and the Asian Development Bank. Award-winning Korean actor and director Cha In-pyo has been named honorary ambassador of the TPSD. Mr. Cha will deliver remarks at the opening session of the dialogue. 

At the core of the 2023 TPSD is the pivotal theme of energy security, SDG7, which proposes to ensure access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all. The challenge of energy production, transportation, and security poses a critical barrier to a shared sustainable future. Despite ongoing progress toward sustainable energy targets on a global scale, recent data indicates that the pace of advancements is insufficient to meet the SDG7 targets by 2030 and varies significantly across different regions. The latest report from the SDG7 Indicator Custodian Agencies also finds that the policy measures required to tackle the global energy crisis, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, continue to lag and that international public financial support for clean energy in low and middle-income countries has been declining since before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Energy security is pivotal to the SDGs. Without securing clean energy, the climate crisis remains insurmountable. However, the clean energy future is under serious threat from the war in Ukraine sparked by Russia,” says Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations. “In this regard, I expect the second annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue to play an important role in convening world-renowned researchers, policymakers, and students to address energy security and advance clean energy technologies,” he adds.

In pursuit of genuine progress, the second annual TPSD will convene esteemed academics, government officials, industry experts, and leading professionals from Stanford University and across Asia. Together, they will interact in dynamic discussions that bridge multiple disciplines and climate science, exploring technological and policy solutions to expedite the transition toward a future free from fossil fuels and other unsustainable energy practices.

“As we approach the 2023 TPSD, we find ourselves at a crucial juncture, crossing the mid-point of the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with mixed results,” notes Gi-Wook Shin, the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea at Stanford and director of APARC. “By extending a platform for leading experts to combine rigorous scientific research, policy analysis, and industry insights, I am confident in our ability to advance tangible solutions and real-world action to propel us forward in pursuit of a decarbonized world.”

The first day of the dialogue, co-hosted by the Korea Environment Institute and the Korea Energy and Economics Institute, will convene at The Plaza Seoul. A World Leaders Session will kick off the event, headlined by Mr. Ban Ki-moon; Chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia Zandanshatar Gombojav; former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, Stanford Professor Steven Chu; and Managing Director General of the Asian Development Bank Woochong Um. The following plenary sessions will examine the intersections of energy security, sustainability, and issues such as geopolitics, green technologies, and clean energy co-benefits.

The second day will be held at Ewha Womans University and hosted by Ewha’s Center for Climate/Environmental Change Prediction Research. The day’s discussion topics will include, among others, energy-efficient technologies and principles for energy security education. With the mission of empowering young leaders to drive the climate change and sustainable development agenda, the second day will offer opportunities for emerging scholars and young professionals to present their research and applied work in championing progress toward energy security.

The 2023 TPSD underscores APARC’s and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation's shared commitment to fostering ambitious action toward delivering the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. APARC and our partners, co-hosts, and supporters warmly invite scholars, students, policy experts, and professionals to join us at the TPSD and get involved with our efforts to shape a sustainable and resilient future for the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Visit the 2023 TPSD page to register to attend the event in person and access the complete program agenda and list of speakers.

About the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) is Stanford University's esteemed institute dedicated to addressing critical issues impacting Asia and its relations with the United States. Through interdisciplinary research, education, and dialogue, APARC seeks to shape innovative policy solutions and enhance collaboration among countries in the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, visit aparc.stanford.edu.

About the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future
The Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future upholds the legacy and vision of Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations. Guided by the principles of unification, communication, co-existence, and dedication, the Foundation works tirelessly towards achieving peace, security, development, and human rights. Collaborating with international organizations and stakeholders, the Foundation actively supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the 2050 carbon net-zero target set by the Paris Climate Accord. For more information, visit eng.bf4bf.or.kr.

Contact

For further information on the Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue, contact Cheryll Alipio, Shorenstein APARC’s Associate Director for Program and Policy at calipio@stanford.edu.

This commentary was first published by The Diplomat.

Indonesia’s $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), announced last November by U.S. President Biden, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, is reaching an early critical juncture. The stakes involved are high, encompassing climate change, economics, U.S.-Indonesian relations, and geopolitics.

Under the Partnership, an International Partners Group (IPG), made up of the G-7, Norway, and Denmark and led by the United States and Japan, promised to mobilize $10 billion in financing, while a private sector alliance committed an equal amount. Indonesia agreed to accelerate the retirement of coal-fired power plants and promote renewable energy, setting targets of capping emissions from its power sector, making that sector carbon neutral by 2050, and tripling the share of renewable energy in the power mix by 2030.

If the partnership succeeds, Indonesia – one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters – will be on a path toward significantly reduced emissions. Moreover, success will demonstrate that the JETP model is viable, encouraging similar partnerships elsewhere. Failure would undermine the JETP concept and discourage efforts by other developing countries.

For Indonesia, JETP provides an opportunity not only to shift away from dirty coal power but also to enhance its attractiveness as an investment destination. Although Coordinating Minister Luhut Panjaitan, who has been overseeing its implementation, has sought to put all the pressure on the IPG, saying “we don’t lose anything if the deal doesn’t materialize,” a failed deal would mean Indonesia leaving billions of dollars on the table, and would reinforce perceptions that it is a difficult place to do business.

The stakes for the United States are equally high. Washington led the negotiations and will get much of the credit or blame for JETP’s success or failure. Also, the recent U.S. track record on economic issues in the Asia-Pacific region has been poor, the result of its withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, avoidance of other trade agreements, and failure to deliver on its “quality infrastructure” initiatives. The United States is widely viewed as losing economic influence in the region to China. The Indonesia JETP deal is a chance for Washington to demonstrate that it can deliver and thereby boost its geostrategic position. Failure would do just the opposite.

Finally, JETP offers a means to improve U.S.-Indonesian relations. Indonesia is important – the world’s third-largest democracy, the biggest Muslim-majority nation, a rising economic power, and a leader of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). While security ties have improved, economic relations have stagnated, the Indonesian public remains cool toward the United States, and Washington worries about Jakarta’s growing ties with China, which provides it with needed infrastructure financing.

JETP already is facing significant challenges. It was always going to be difficult for Indonesia to shift away from coal, an industry that has produced powerful conglomerates and employs around 250,000 people. The country has a surplus of power capacity in key regions and a relatively new fleet of coal plants, making early retirement costly. Moreover, the current regulatory environment, including Jakarta’s local content requirement, makes investing in renewable energy unattractive. There are other challenges, but discussions with experts suggest most can be overcome with sufficient will and financing.

Therein lies the bigger, more immediate problem. Following an April visit to Washington, Indonesian officials complained that the IPG was asking Jakarta to take difficult steps without doing its part. Minister Luhut told the press that Washington had not “shown” them any money or clarified how Indonesia can access JETP funds. He also emphasized that the money needed to come on concessional terms. An Indonesian official involved in JETP said privately that they are informed that grants would make up only a small fraction of the $20 billion in financing and that only one-third of the money would consist of truly concessional loans. “The [financing] package,” the official added, “is not aligned with the spirit of the partnership and ambitious transition required in JETP, which without real financial support will add significant financial burden to Jakarta.”

Other conversations suggest increasing doubt in Jakarta about whether the money will materialize, along with what one Indonesian expert called a growing worry that JETP will fail before it gets started. U.S. officials say it will be “bankable” projects identified in the JETP investment plan, expected next month, that should trigger the flow of money. They insist the financing will be there.

Given the stakes, Jakarta and Washington need to redouble efforts to move the partnership forward. For Indonesia, that means completing an investment plan with bankable projects, offering regulatory reform to make renewable energy investments more attractive, and addressing the contracts behind the current energy surplus. It also will mean accepting less concessional financing than it wants. For Washington, it involves quickly demonstrating that it and its IPG partners will meet their financing commitment with reasonably concessional terms and clarify the mechanism for accessing the JETP funds.

Time is of the essence. To bolster lagging confidence, the parties need to announce several pilot projects soon and move vigorously to implement them. The opportunity presented by the JETP initiative is too good to miss, and the cost of failure is high.

The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) at Stanford University and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future announced today the launch of an annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue in Asia to accelerate progress on achieving the United Nations-adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The joint project will spur new research and policy partnerships between experts from the United States and Asia to expedite the implementation of the Agenda’s underlying 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by governments and non-state actors. The two-day inaugural Dialogue will be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on October 27 and 28, 2022, and will be free and open to the public.

The Dialogue’s co-organizers include the Natural Capital Project (NatCap) of Stanford University, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI), Korea Environment Corporation (K-eco), and Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water). 

The first day will take place at The Plaza Seoul and will be co-hosted by the Korea Environment Institute. It will include a series of public sessions headlined by Ban Ki-moon, the eighth secretary-general of the UN, who will join a lineup of world leaders including Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia and chief executive officer and president of the Asia Society; Iván Duque, former president of the Republic of Colombia; and Gombojav Zandanshatar, chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia.

“This Dialogue is very timely and relevant as the climate crisis is deepening in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Sustainable Development Goals are becoming more difficult to achieve in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic,” says Mr. Ban Ki-moon. “Asia-Pacific countries should be more aggressive in the fight against climate change and more audacious in the role they play toward achieving the SDGs,” he noted.

In this spirit, expert discussions on the second day will bring together social science researchers and scientists from across the Asia-Pacific region, alongside policymakers and practitioners, to share local and global nature-positive solutions and new pathways of meaningful SDG acceleration actions. Co-hosted by and held at Ewha Womans University, the panel discussions will explore the making of livable, sustainable cities, such as Busan Metropolitan City, and the threats to them by climate change, disasters, and human security issues. To achieve systems transformation and sustainable development, discussions will turn to the need to value and invest in nature.

“Climate and sustainability solutions span disciplines and sectors and require collaboration with partners worldwide,” says Gi-Wook Shin, the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea at Stanford and director of APARC. “The launch of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability marks an opportune moment to scale up SDGs implementation by leveraging knowledge and expertise from across Stanford and the Asia-Pacific and engaging the next generation of scholars and experts,” Shin adds. “We are honored to join in this effort with Mr. Ban and his team, with whom APARC has an established relationship.”

Highlighting the role of youth in achieving the SDGs, the Dialogue includes student panels that feature young leaders from Stanford University, Ewha Womans University, Osaka University, and De La Salle University, among other Asian universities. Students’ research, applied work, and entrepreneurial endeavors across the region showcase innovations and transformations in green financing and sustainable investments, gender mainstreaming and climate governance, development cooperation for sustainable governance, and scaling environmental solutions through a business and social justice lens.

The Seoul Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue is the inaugural event in APARC and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation’s joint effort to stimulate ambitious action to deliver the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The annual Dialogue may rotate among different host cities in Asia to address different themes selected from the SDGs framework spearheaded by Mr. Ban Ki-moon during his term as the UN Secretary-General. 

Visit the event page to register to attend the Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue in person in Seoul, as well as for the full program agenda and speaker list.

The event is also offered online via a live webcast: watch the live-streamed sessions on the event page or via the Ban Ki-moon Foundation’s YouTube channel.

About the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center

The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) addresses critical issues affecting the countries of Asia, their regional and global affairs, and U.S.-Asia relations. As Stanford University’s hub for the interdisciplinary study of contemporary Asia, APARC produces policy-relevant research, provides education and training to students, scholars, and practitioners, and strengthens dialogue and cooperation between counterparts in the Asia-Pacific and the United States. Founded in 1983, APARC today is home to a scholar community of distinguished academics and practitioners in government, business, and civil society, who specialize in trends that cut across the entire Asia-Pacific region. For more, visit aparc.stanford.edu.

About the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future

The Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future follows and further develops the achievement and philosophy of Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary General of the United Nations through upholding the values of unification, communication and co-existence, and dedication. It promotes three pillars of the UN including peace and security, development, and human rights and contributes to making a better future devoid of conflict and deficiency. In particular, the Ban Ki-moon Foundation actively collaborates with the UN, international organizations, and stakeholders toward achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 2050 carbon net-zero of all state parties of the Paris Climate Accord of 2015. For more, visit http://eng.bf4bf.or.kr/. 

Media Contact

Journalists interested in covering the event should contact Shorenstein APARC’s Communications Manager, Michael Breger at mbreger@stanford.edu. For further information on the Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue, please contact Cheryll Alipio, Shorenstein APARC’s Associate Director for Program and Policy at calipio@stanford.edu.

This commentary was first published in The Hill.

The future sustainability of the Earth cannot do without the coordinated actions of its two largest carbon polluters — the United States and China.

The most recent highlight in that realm is the U.S.-China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s at the UN climate change conference COP26 in November 2021. The joint statement, which came during a turbulent time in U.S.-China relations, was both surprising and valued. The declaration reaffirms both nations’ commitment to “tackling [climate change] through their respective accelerated actions in the critical decade of the 2020s, as well as through cooperation in multilateral processes.”

The declaration also calls for “concrete actions in the 2020s to reduce emissions aimed at keeping the Paris Agreement-aligned temperature limit within reach,” including in the areas of methane reduction, decarbonization and forest protection. 

While the declaration represents a promising step forward and offers reassurances about new momentum for sustained future cooperation, it offers few details regarding concrete plans, nor the opportunities and challenges to enact and implement those plans.

Last fall, we at Stanford University partnered with Peking University to convene a series of discussions on a broad range of themes around U.S.-China collaboration on climate change, such as global sustainable finance, corporate climate pledges, as well as opportunities and challenges for the acceleration of decarbonization in both countries in general — both nationally and by sector — with particular emphasis on power, transportation and industry. The outcomes and insights were synthesized in a report on how to accelerate decarbonization in China and the United States, in which we highlight two urgent recommendations to facilitate constructive cooperation between both nations as they tackle growing environmental challenges.

Sign up for APARC newsletters to receive our experts' commentary and analysis.

First, we need open-science research and development (R&D) collaboration.

Second, we need to be explicitly cognizant of political and institutional constraints.

This is necessary in order to translate promises into progress while protecting social benefits and their equitable distribution amid the green energy transition. As noted in both the joint declaration and our report, bilateral dialogues so far remain very high-level. We need future discussions and workshops at the sectoral and local levels to develop concrete plans. In enacting and implementing concrete plans, political and institutional constraints can pose real obstacles, as demonstrated by China’s past and ongoing efforts to control air pollution.

Hence, strong support from both national and local governments will be critical. As a first step, we need to gain a good understanding of who the relevant actors are in both policymaking and implementation and the incentives they face.

In this period of transition when there are still regional mismatches between energy supply and demand, it is too easy to let short-term needs push climate mitigation goals to the bottom of the barrel to address regional energy shortages. In both countries policymakers and those charged with implementation face multiple and sometimes conflicting goals. The prioritization of goals is shaped by incentive structures. Fostering incentive structures conducive to decarbonization is particularly important during the transitional period when consensus around goals and priorities is less clear. 

Furthermore, it is time to standardize standards. A recurring theme across our discussions is the need for shared, clearly specified regulatory frameworks and standards across both nations. Harmonizing standards will expedite trade, validation, accounting, climate pledges and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) evaluation.

Only if there is standardization can organizations be required to follow unified disclosure practices for making available important information like the amount of carbon emitted. We need to make and implement more legislation to encourage a faster pace of decarbonization, and having unified terminology and standards is conducive to both effective carbon legislation and policy implementation. Common terminology and standards will provide a basis for carbon legislation. Having clearly stipulated standards and procedures can also make implementation easier and more straightforward. 

Last but not least, we are hopeful about the future of U.S.-China cooperation on climate change and believe that universities can play a significant role in the global energy transition. Universities are often the birthplaces of innovative technology, training grounds for talent from across the globe, as well as conveners of bilateral and multilateral dialogues. We hope the governments on both sides of the Pacific will work together to hammer out the needed details to build the momentum and make a real impact in the fight against global climate change. 

Shiran Victoria Shen is the W. Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell national fellow at Stanford University’s  Hoover Institution, as well as an assistant professor of environmental politics at the University of Virginia. 

Jean C. Oi is the William Haas professor of Chinese politics, senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies, as well as the director of Stanford University’s China Program. She is also the Lee Shau Kee director of the Stanford Center at Peking University. 

Yi Cui is the director of Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy, as well as professor of materials science and engineering. He is a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, and professor, by courtesy, of Chemistry, Stanford University. 

Liang Min is managing director of the Bits & Watts Initiative of the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University.